A true product of the computer era, a virtual reality film deals with the effects of computer technology on both the world and the human race. As digital technology and mechanics became more and more prevalent in the last half of the 20th Century, the interior of the computerized environment becomes a backdrop for thriller elements, emphasizing a struggle between the virtual world and the concrete world. Perhaps the most interesting twist on the genre occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as films like Videodrome blurred the lines between the flesh and the fiber optic, exploring the literal melding of man and machine. |